Written Answers Wednesday 9 December 2009

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many primary school pupils in the Lothians region have received hospital treatment as a result of alcohol misuse in each of the last five years.

Shona Robison: The number of patients aged 12 years or under, admitted to acute hospitals with a diagnosis of alcohol misuse, resident in the NHS Lothian area 2003-04 to 2007-08 is shown in the following table.

  Number of Patients Discharged from General Acute Hospitals with an Alcohol-related Diagnosis Aged 12 Years or Under, Resident in NHS Lothian 2003-04 to 2007-08

  

 
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08


NHS Lothian
12
9
5
8
7



  Source: Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland.

  Note: Data for 2007-08 are provisional.

Cancer

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what evaluation has been made of the success of policies designed to increase the take-up rate of breast screening.

Nicola Sturgeon: There has not been a national evaluation carried out on the success of policies designed to increase the up-take rate of breast screening. However, evaluations have been carried out at local level within some NHS boards.

Class Sizes

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the primary one class size restriction proposed by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning in September 2009 will apply to the 2010-11 primary school intake.

Keith Brown: Yes. We intend to consult shortly on regulations that will introduce a class size maximum of 25 for primary one classes from August 2010.

Class Sizes

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis it has made of the impact of the primary one class size restriction proposed by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning in September 2009 on primary schools at which primary one pupil intake has previously exceeded 25 by more than five pupils and accommodation is not available to provide facilities for extra classes; whether it will publish any such analysis, and, if so, when.

Keith Brown: No such analysis has been made. We intend to consult shortly on regulations that will introduce a class size maximum of 25 for primary one classes and local authorities will have the opportunity to comment on their impact where the intake exceeds 25.

Class Sizes

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis it has made of the impact of the primary one class size restriction proposed by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning in September 2009 on school catchment areas in Edinburgh; whether it will publish any such analysis, and, if so, when.

Keith Brown: No such analysis has been undertaken. We intend to consult shortly on regulations that will introduce a class size maximum of 25 for primary one classes and it is open to the City of Edinburgh Council to comment on their impact on catchment areas.

Education

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive through what mechanism it will address the views and concerns of head teachers regarding the implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence.

Michael Russell: There are regular meetings between Scottish Government officials and each of the teacher representative organisations. The Curriculum for Excellence management board is overseeing implementation. Of its 17 non-Scottish Government members, four are from the teacher organisations. Views and concerns can be raised at meetings of the board. One thousand, five hundred and fifty heads of early years, primary and secondary schools have attended five Scottish Government regional events this year.

Enterprise

Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to begin its consultation on the eligibility of small businesses with multiple properties to qualify for the Small Business Bonus Scheme.

John Swinney: In my statement to Parliament on 26 November 2009 I confirmed that all existing business rate relief schemes, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme, will continue in 2010-11. I also confirmed that I am currently considering the impact that the 2010 revaluation will have on the rates bills of various sectors and the reliefs we provide. I will confirm the outcome of those considerations, including any changes to the Small Business Bonus Scheme, as soon as possible.

Ferry Services

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the EU ruling that the Gourock to Dunoon ferry route should be treated as a public service route and whether specific vessels have been identified for this and the other island routes operated by Calmac Ferries Ltd.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government welcomes the European Commission’s Decision, which confirms that the public financing of the ferry services in Scotland is compatible with the State aid rules so long as we implement appropriate tendering procedures in respect of the Gourock to Dunoon route. We look forward to receiving a final version of the full EC report, at which time a proper assessment of all its findings can be made.

  The Commission requires us to launch a public tender for this route before the end of 2009, and for the subsequent public service contract to take effect before the end of June 2011:

  - The Scottish Government will launch an open transparent and non-discriminatory public tender for a six-year public service contract with the subsidy to cover only passenger traffic, with current timetable restrictions being removed.

  - The winning bidder will be allowed an unrestricted commercial vehicle transport service, subject to appropriate accountancy measures and audit monitoring to prevent cross subsidisation from the passenger service to the commercial vehicle service.

  The winning bidder will be free to bring in its own vessel solutions, replacing the old vessels currently operating on the route. Nevertheless, I have recently asked Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) to undertake some research into the availability of ferries on the present second-hand market, to provide what we believe will be useful information to bidders for the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service contract. The timetable in the Commission’s Decision would not allow sufficient time for new vessels to be procured. In terms of the remainder of the island routes operated by Calmac Ferries Ltd, I can confirm that these will continue to operate with the existing vessels.

Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the business case for hubCo was agreed.

John Swinney: A Strategic Business Case for the development of a hub Initiative was approved under the previous administration early in 2007.

Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial penalties would have been incurred in connection with the tendering process if hubCo had not proceeded in 2007.

John Swinney: Previous development costs would have been incurred for no benefit.

Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the tender announcement for hubCo was agreed by ministers.

John Swinney: The decision to transfer responsibility for the hub Initiative to the Scottish Futures Trust was announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 10 September 2008. The tender announcement was made by Scottish Futures Trust in conjunction with those organisations within the South East Territory.

Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the additional cost to the public purse would be if hubCo was converted into an NPD scheme.

John Swinney: HubCo is a long-term programme and therefore needs flexibility as to the financing route of individual projects. It is anticipated that the hub Co formed by the Private Sector Development Partner and the public sector will deliver community based infrastructure using two principal contract types, depending on a value for money assessment:

  design and build contracts using public capital, and

  concession agreements which incorporate private finance.

  In privately financed concession agreements, an overall cap on returns (the cap set at a level above the expected return) will be agreed at project level. In line with key NPD principles, this provision will ensure that any surpluses are retained by the public sector client to an individual concession agreement.

Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which minister signed off a 60% private sector equity shareholding in hubCo.

John Swinney: The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) has led development and implementation of the hub initiative since the establishment of SFT in September 2008. In February 2009, SFT advised Scottish ministers on the financial structure of hub, which ministers noted.

Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy on the cancellation of PPP projects was when it came into office.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government made clear when it came into office that PPP could continue as one of several delivery options open to public sector bodies. We stated that those PPP projects which were well advanced could continue as to stop them would have required compensation and caused the delay of much needed public sector infrastructure investment.

Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28854 by John Swinney on 19 November 2009, which of these schemes (a) has been completed, (b) is in construction, (c) is at tender stage and (d) is in preparation.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government will report on the results of the accelerated capital spending undertaken during 2009-10 following the end of the financial year.

Fisheries

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the differences are between Scotland and Norway in the rules on the siting of salmon farm sea cages.

Richard Lochhead: In Scotland, planning permission is required from local authorities for the siting of a marine finfish farm under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended by the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006). This requires an assessment of the number of cages, layout and design of all equipment associated with the farm. A proposal for any development over 100 tonnes also has to be assessed against the requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 1999 (as amended), to determine whether it is likely to have a significant environmental effect.

  In Norway, planning permission is not required. Screening for any environmental impact does not start until the consent exceeds 3,120 tonnes of biomass. A basic assessment is carried out to determine any seabed impacts of the proposed biomass before a pollution control permit is issued.

Fisheries

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many porpoises have been killed as bycatch in bottom set nets in Scottish waters in each year since 1999.

Roseanna Cunningham: The UK cetacean bycatch monitoring scheme (UKCBMS) is designed to meet UK and Scottish Government responsibilities under the EU Habitats Directive by monitoring incidental bycatch of cetaceans in UK fisheries. The scheme is a UK scheme funded at UK level but the Scottish Government provides support amounting to £30,000 per annum, plus the use of Marine Scotland fishery observers. It involves the stationing of observers on board a sample of UK fishing vessels to record instances of bycatch. These records are then used to estimate total bycatch in UK fisheries. This meets the requirements of the EU Habitats Directive.

  One thousand, four hundred UK-registered vessels use gill and tangle (bottom set) nets, of which 20 are registered in Scotland. Eight of these Scottish vessels (40%) have been subject to monitoring under the scheme. No separate estimate of cetacean bycatch in Scottish waters has been made. However, the small scale of these fisheries in Scottish waters in comparison to the rest of the UK means that cetacean bycatch in Scottish waters is likely to be small. Seals are not the focus of this monitoring scheme but records indicate that seal bycatch is similarly small.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the rapid testing for MRSA and the 027 strain of Clostridium difficile (Cd) being used at Ninewells Hospital has been validated and, if so, whether the Scottish Government will fund a rapid roll-out as well as testing of all symptomatic Cd cases that tested positive on an Elisa test in order to identify potential spread and lethality.

Nicola Sturgeon: The rapid testing system in NHS Tayside is currently being evaluated by the board as part of its overall approach to managing Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI).

  Independent of this, the Scottish Microbiology Forum (SMF), Health Protection Scotland and the Scottish Clostridium difficile Reference Laboratory Service have produced a new testing algorithm for Clostridium difficile which will be available for the diagnostic laboratories before the end of December 2009. Whilst this guidance recognises that Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing for toxin B may have a role as part of the combination of tests employed in a two-step diagnostic algorithm, the expert consensus of opinion, both in the UK and the rest of Europe, does not currently support its use as a stand alone test, and that there are alternative test combinations which can be used as part of that algorithm.

  Any case for the implementation and roll out of a specific rapid testing system for the whole of Scotland would require evidence that a single solution could be applied and would be cost effective for all laboratory situations. It would also require evidence that the system is at least as effective as other methods available and improves the turnaround of results with a positive impact on patient care. Such evidence is currently lacking.

  It remains the case that best practice in infection control management and control of potential outbreaks and incidents should be handled as explicitly stated in the Scottish Guidance for the management of CDI.

Housing

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions regarding its proposals for a Scottish housing trust it has had with COSLA.

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it has had with individual local authorities regarding its proposals for a Scottish housing trust.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has had several meetings with COSLA since May 2009 to discuss innovative ways of boosting housing supply, including the potential for a housing trust model to assist some councils in meeting housing needs. Officials held initial discussions with COSLA officers in May and June, at which it was agreed that the concept of a housing trust model was worth exploring further to clarify its feasibility and potential.

  The Scottish Government asked the Scottish Futures Trust in June to examine the case for a national housing trust and, as part of this exercise, 26 local authorities were approached to seek their initial views and potential levels of interest in the model. The initial feedback from the work of the Scottish Futures Trust suggested that 18 of these local authorities would be interested in looking at the housing trust model in more detail.

  Following completion of the exploratory work carried out by the Scottish Futures Trust, further discussions were held between the Scottish Government and COSLA in September and October. It was agreed that COSLA would seek feedback from councils and arrange consideration of the proposal at meetings in November of the relevant COSLA executive groups and COSLA leaders.

  To inform COSLA’s consideration of the proposal, the Scottish Government provided COSLA with a summary of the housing trust model together with a background paper prepared by the Scottish Futures Trust to give councils more details, and the Scottish Government also answered a number of queries fed back from councils. Copies of these papers entitled National Housing Trust – summary of proposals and Increasing Affordable Housing Supply from Limited Public Resources – The Proposed National Housing Trust Initiative, are available in the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (Bib. numbers 49829 and 49830).

  The Scottish Government is continuing to work closely with COSLA to identify whether any local authorities would wish to participate in a national housing trust initiative and, if so, to undertake further work with COSLA and interested local authorities to develop detailed proposals.

Housing

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings it has had regarding its proposals for a Scottish housing trust; on what date they took place, and who was present in each case.

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation has taken place with housing associations regarding its proposals for a Scottish housing trust.

Alex Neil: As part of its consideration of further actions for responding to the recession and public finance constraints, the Scottish Government has, in the course of 2009, held numerous meetings on innovative models for providing affordable housing with lower levels of public resource and the type of vehicle needed to deliver this, including a housing trust model.

  Over 50 meetings and discussions have been held with a range of stakeholders, in particular COSLA, local authorities, the Scottish Futures Trust, lenders, developers, housing associations, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and insolvency practitioners about a potential national housing trust or alternative models to boost affordable housing supply. The Scottish Futures Trust has also held meetings with key stakeholders as part of its work in examining the potential for a housing trust model. Many of these discussions were commercially sensitive in nature.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications to the Open Market Shared Equity programme have not yet been granted.

Alex Neil: At the end of September 2009, 7,143 applications forms had been issued by registered social landlords administering the Open Market Shared Equity programme. Of these, 2,997 applications were returned of whom 1,521 were eligible.

  An update to Housing Statistics for Scotland - AHIP Summary will be published towards the end of February 2010 on the Scottish Government website and will include number of sales in the period October to December.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what average amount it has paid for Open Market Shared Equity programme houses, broken down by local authority.

Alex Neil: As at 30 September 2009, the average spend for Open Market Shared Equity programme houses broken down by local authority is:

  Average Open Market Shared Equity Programme Grant Paid

  

Local Authority
 


Edinburgh and the Lothians, Fife and Scottish Borders
 


Edinburgh
£38,800


East Lothian
£41,287


Fife
£25,959


Midlothian
£40,658


Scottish Borders
£26,202


West Lothian 
£42,022


Grampian
 


Aberdeen City
£37,001


Aberdeenshire
£47,522


North
 


Highland
£40,394


Orkney
£41,257


Tayside and Forth Valley
 


Angus
£37,827


Clackmannanshire
£31,235


Dundee
£22,802


Falkirk
£28,100


Perth and Kinross
£36,273


Stirling
£33,616


West
 


Argyll and Bute
£20,258


Dumfries and Galloway
£26,071


East Ayrshire
£16,636


East Dunbartonshire
£32,201


East Renfrewshire
£34,470


Glasgow
£28,176


Inverclyde
£22,187


North Ayrshire
£20,827


North Lanarkshire
£33,504


South Ayrshire
£21,909


South Lanarkshire
£17,335


West Dunbartonshire
£18,243



  An update to Housing Statistics for Scotland - AHIP Summary will be published towards the end of February 2010 on the Scottish Government website and will include number of sales in the period October to December.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a deposit is required of applicants to the Open Market Shared Equity programme.

Alex Neil: No, the Open Market Shared Equity programme does not require applicants to have a deposit to access to the scheme. However, an applicant’s lender may require a modest mortgage deposit and this has been the case with most lenders for some months.

Junior Doctors

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28614 by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 November 2009, how many junior doctors in each grade of each rota are affected by the derogations listed.

Nicola Sturgeon: The derogations apply to the following numbers and grades of doctors in training:

  

NHS Scotland Board
Hospital
Specialty
Number and Grades of Training Posts


NHS Ayrshire and Arran
Ayr Hospital
Emergency Medicine
1 x ST3+


NHS Borders
Borders General Hospital
Paediatrics
5 x ST3+


NHS Fife
Forth Park Maternity Hospital/ Victoria Hospital
Paediatrics
10 x ST3+


NHS Lanarkshire
Hairmyres Hospital Monklands Hospital Wishaw Hospital Wishaw Hospital
Accident and Emergency Accident and Emergency Accident and Emergency Neonates
2 x SpR1 x ST43 x ST41 x ST52 x ST44 x ST3+



  Some of these rotas may be partially staffed by staff and associated specialist grades and the numbers of doctors in training may fluctuate as vacancies occur and are filled.

Junior Doctors

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the implementation of the European working time directive in relation to junior doctors, which allows assessment of compliance over a 26-week reference period, whether it considers the monitoring of actual hours of work based on a two-week reference period every six months to be adequate and what steps it is taking to monitor compliance.

Nicola Sturgeon: As employers, NHS boards are required to maintain such records as are adequate to demonstrate that each employee is compliant with the regulations. In addition to guidance covering record keeping issued in 2003 (NHS HDL (2003) 3), more recently we have issued CEL 14 2009 which provides good practice guidance on the sort of records that NHS Scotland boards could keep to measure compliance with the Working Time Regulations (WTR) for doctors in training. These include:

  New Deal monitoring (two week monitoring information);

  Template rota information, in particular extending all rotas over 26 weeks to ensure compliance over this reference period, and

  Clinical activity analysis.

  Our WTR Adviser continues to work with NHS boards to ensure that employers are aware of their obligations around record keeping. Following these suggestions will enable NHS Scotland boards to gauge the working hours of doctors in training to ensure they comply with the WTR.

Marine Environment

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether ministers have had recent discussions with stakeholders in North Ayrshire regarding marine conservation.

Roseanna Cunningham: There have been no recent ministerial meetings with stakeholders in North Ayrshire regarding marine conservation.

  There was a meeting of the Lamlash Bay Implementation Group on 26 November which officials attended.

Ministerial Meetings

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was represented at the Education, Youth Affairs and Culture Council in Brussels on 26 to 27 November 2009.

Fiona Hyslop: A Scottish Government minister was not able to attend the Education, Youth Affairs and Culture Council on that occasion due to parliamentary business requirements.

Ministerial Meetings

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and (b) Minister for Public Health and Sport last met NHS board chairs and what issues were discussed.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and the Minister for Public Health and Sport last met with chairs of NHS boards on Monday 23 November 2009.

  Issues discussed were:

  Healthcare Environment Inspectorate

  H1N1

  Financial Update

  NHSScotland Efficiency Month

  NHS Performance

  Equality Bill – Age Discrimination

  Health Works Publication

  Alcohol Minimum Pricing

  Bereavement Care in the NHS

  Burial and Cremation Review Group

  Long Term Obesity Strategy

  Regulation Event - Healthcare Support Worker Standards

  NHSScotland Framework for Developing Boards

  National Programme Board for Prisoner Healthcare

  Insulin Pump Therapy.

Rail Network

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when construction of the track for the Waverley railway line will commence.

Stewart Stevenson: The Waverley railway line project will formally start in 2010 with the latter stages of the project involving, inter alia, the laying of track commencing after the awarding of the contract for that project of the work in 2011.

Road Accidents

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) fatal accidents, (b) fatal and serious accidents and (c) accidents of all severities have been recorded on the (i) motorway and (ii) trunk road network across Scotland in each month since May 2007.

Stewart Stevenson: The number of (a) fatal accidents, (b) fatal and serious accidents and (c) accidents of all severities have been recorded on the (i) motorway and (ii) trunk road network across Scotland in each month since May 2007 until 31 July 2009, is shown in the following tables:

  (a) Fatal Accidents

  


(i) MotorwayNetwork
Dual and Single Carriageway Network
(ii) All Trunk Road Network


May 2007
1
6
7


June 2007
0
4
4


July 2007
1
6
7


August 2007
0
8
8


September 2007
0
8
8


October 2007
1
8
9


November 2007
0
4
4


December 2007
2
6
8


January 2008
1
5
6


February 2008
1
2
3


March 2008
0
4
4


April 2008
1
4
5


May 2008
1
6
7


June 2008
1
5
6


July 2008
1
8
9


August 2008
1
4
5


September 2008
0
4
4


October 2008
1
3
4


November 2008
1
6
7


December 2008
0
1
1


January 2009
3
4
7


February 2009
0
5
5


March 2009
1
8
9


April 2009
1
3
4


May 2009
0
4
4


June 2009
1
2
3


July 2009
1
3
4



  (b) Fatal and Serious Accidents

  


(i) Motorway Network
Dual and Single Carriageway Network
(ii) All Trunk Road Network


May 2007
5
37
42


June 2007
5
16
21


July 2007
6
38
44


August 2007
7
38
45


September 2007
5
27
32


October 2007
9
33
42


November 2007
7
30
37


December 2007
4
23
27


January 2008
7
32
39


February 2008
5
25
30


March 2008
9
27
36


April 2008
7
25
32


May 2008
2
31
33


June 2008
4
41
45


July 2008
5
29
34


August 2008
3
41
44


September 2008
3
23
26


October 2008
4
31
35


November 2008
6
28
34


December 2008
1
16
17


January 2009
8
29
37


February 2009
5
24
29


March 2009
5
37
42


April 2009
6
23
29


May 2009
3
34
37


June 2009
6
23
29


July 2009
4
21
25



  (c) Accidents of All Severities

  


(i) Motorway Network
Dual and Single Carriageway Network
(ii) All Trunk Road Network


May 2007
39
155
194


June 2007
36
134
170


July 2007
41
153
194


August 2007
38
144
182


September 2007
33
141
174


October 2007
45
143
188


November 2007
36
129
165


December 2007
39
168
207


January 2008
62
164
226


February 2008
33
113
146


March 2008
47
141
188


April 2008
36
132
168


May 2008
26
128
154


June 2008
32
160
192


July 2008
28
124
152


August 2008
47
174
221


September 2008
36
117
153


October 2008
47
142
189


November 2008
40
129
169


December 2008
38
101
139


January 2009
39
122
161


February 2009
21
102
123


March 2009
41
119
160


April 2009
29
111
140


May 2009
33
130
163


June 2009
28
106
134


July 2009
25
90
115



  The figures quoted may differ slightly from those published elsewhere because they were extracted on a different date and the database may have changed between two dates, e.g. due to late returns or corrections to earlier returns.

Road Accidents

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) fatal accidents, (b) fatal and serious accidents and (c) accidents of all severities have occurred at junctions of the M74 since May 2007, broken down by junction.

Stewart Stevenson: The number of (a) fatal accidents, (b) fatal and serious accidents and (c) accidents of all severities have occurred at junctions of the M74 since May 2007 until 31 July 2009, broken down by junction is shown in the following table:

  

 
Fatal
Serious
Slight
Total


J1
0
0
2
2


J2
0
0
2
2


J3
0
0
1
1


J4
0
0
9
9


J5
0
0
5
5


J6
0
2
19
21


J7
0
0
1
1


J8
0
0
5
5


J9
0
1
1
2


J10
0
2
1
3


J11
0
0
1
1


J12
0
0
0
0


J13
0
0
0
0


J14
0
0
1
1


J15
0
1
4
5


J16
0
2
0
2


J17
0
2
1
3


J18
0
1
2
3


J19
0
0
0
0


J20
0
1
0
1


J21
0
0
3
3


J22
0
0
2
2


Total
0
12
60
72



  The accident figures cover 200 metres either side of the junctions and include the slip roads. The distance at junctions 4 and 6 was increased due to the complexity of these junctions and slip roads.

  The figures quoted may differ slightly from those published elsewhere because they were extracted on a different date and the database may have changed between two dates, e.g. due to late returns or corrections to earlier returns.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28285 by Stewart Stevenson on 12 November 2009, whether it will provide a breakdown of the estimated £51 million for the relocation of the International School of Aberdeen to Pitfodels, including (a) construction of the new school, (b) purchase of the new site and (c) any other costs incurred by the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project.

Stewart Stevenson: A breakdown of the estimated cost of the relocation of the International School of Aberdeen is given in the following table:

  

Item
Cost (excluding VAT)


Construction of new school (including main contract and various sub-contracts)
£36.5 million


Purchase of the new site at Pitfodels by the International School of Aberdeen (including stamp duty)
£7.5 million


Professional Fees and Relocation Costs
£7.0 million


Total Estimated Cost
£51.0 million

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28645 by Stewart Stevenson on 16 November 2009, whether it will indicate the cost of (a) scheme development, (b) environmental impact assessments, (c) consultations with statutory and non-statutory bodies, (d) publication of statutory documentation, (e) topographical surveys, (f) ground investigation works, (g) land purchase payments and (h) compensation payments.

Stewart Stevenson: The total scheme development costs for work undertaken is approximately £34 million. The following costs are included as part of the total scheme development costs but can be identified separately:

  Environmental Impact Assessment - £8.1 million,

  Topographical Surveys - £0.7 million,

  Ground Investigation Works (including landowner compensation) - £7.5 million.

  The costs specifically related to the public consultation process and publication of statutory documentation are unavailable as these ongoing costs have been recorded as part of the overall scheme development costs.

  The cost of acquisition of property by voluntary agreement (including compensation and professional fees) is approximately £18.8 million. This figure excludes compensation payments made to date in relation to the relocation of the International School of Aberdeen.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money has been spent on purchasing (a) residential property, (b) agricultural land and (c) other land and property in preparation for the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) residential and (b) commercial properties have been purchased in preparation for the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Stewart Stevenson: To date, 15 residential properties have been purchased at a cost of £18.8 million (including compensation and professional fees). No agricultural land has been purchased to date. The International School of Aberdeen is the only other property that has been purchased to date. The estimated cost of the relocation of the International School of Aberdeen is £51 million (excluding VAT) at today’s prices.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding mechanism was used to pay for the estimated £91 million preparatory work for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding mechanism has been used to pay for the estimated £51 million relocation of the International School of Aberdeen to Pitfodels.

Stewart Stevenson: The cost of the preparatory work undertaken to date on the proposed Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route has been funded through the resource and capital budgets of the Scottish Government and its partners Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding mechanism will be used to pay for the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24477 on 10 June 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what contribution (a) Aberdeen City and (b) Aberdeenshire Council has made to the cost of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Stewart Stevenson: Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council will contribute 9.5% each to the cost of the proposed Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. The cost of the proposed Fastlink to Stonehaven and the maintenance of the entire scheme will be met by the Scottish Government.

  To date, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council have each made a contribution of approximately £8.8 million towards scheme preparation costs.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what contribution (a) Aberdeen City and (b) Aberdeenshire Council has made to the cost of relocating the International School of Aberdeen to Pitfodels.

Stewart Stevenson: Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council will contribute 9.5% each to the cost of the proposed Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. The cost of the proposed Fastlink to Stonehaven and the maintenance of the entire scheme will be met by the Scottish Government.

  To date, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council have each made a contribution of approximately £3.5 million towards the cost of the relocation of the International School of Aberdeen.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much VAT it expects to pay in relation to the relocation of the International School of Aberdeen to Pitfodels.

Stewart Stevenson: The estimated VAT to be paid in relation to the relocation of the International School of Aberdeen is approximately £7 million.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to question S3W-28285 and S3W-28645 by Stewart Stevenson on 12 and 16 November 2009 respectively, whether the estimated £91 million cost of preparatory work for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route includes (a) the estimated £51 million for relocation of the International School of Aberdeen to Pitfodels and (b) VAT.

Stewart Stevenson: Expenditure up to the end of October 2009, in relation to the relocation of the International School of Aberdeen, is included in the total cost of preparatory work of approximately £91 million undertaken up to the end of October 2009. This includes VAT paid up to the end of October 2009, in relation to the relocation of the International School of Aberdeen.

Roads

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of roads goes through (a) rural and (b) remote areas, broken down by (i) region, (ii) UK Parliament constituency and (iii) Scottish Parliament constituency.

Stewart Stevenson: The only information that the Scottish Government has available relates to type of road by council area shown in table 5.2 of the publication Scottish Transport Statistics . The latest edition was published in December 2008 and is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47269).

Sectarianism

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many anti-sectarianism events the First Minister has attended in 2009, broken down by (a) date, (b) venue and (c) organisations involved.

Fergus Ewing: The First Minister has hosted anti-sectarian events and has seen the positive outcomes of Sense over Sectarianism twinning schools projects for himself. He regularly has meetings and events with stakeholders which involve tackling sectarianism, such as his address to the Edinburgh Inter Faith Association in St John’s Church on 22 January, the meeting he hosted with faith leaders at Bute House on 16 June and his annual meeting with Action of Churches Together in Scotland, which took place in the Scottish Parliament on 4 November.

  Lead responsibility for this area of work rests with me, as Minister for Community Safety, and I regularly visit anti-sectarian projects and initiatives to see the positive impact these are having on our communities. I was delighted that some of these projects were featured at the event I hosted, to celebrate the achievements of those who are delivering initiatives to tackle sectarianism at the Scottish Youth Theatre on 23 November, and which I am pleased you were able to attend.

Teachers

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected additional costs will be in respect of pension entitlements if all eligible teachers take up early retirement under the £10 million scheme it announced in its news release, Support for teacher employment , on 25 November 2009.

Keith Brown: The government has taken action to address the serious issue of teacher unemployment. We have listened to what councils have said over the summer about the desire to put in place an early retirement scheme.

  Councils will be invited to bid for this scheme and we will take account of the business cases presented, which will include value for money. The cost to local authorities will be dependent on the profile of those taking retirement. However, as the retiring teachers are being replaced with teachers predominately at the bottom of the pay scale, we anticipate that the scheme can be cost neutral.

Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many kilometres UK-licensed HGVs travelled on (a) non-trunk A roads and (b) minor roads in Scotland in the last year.

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of days (a) UK-based and (b) non-UK-based HGVs were on the road in Scotland in the last year and their weight category.

Stewart Stevenson: The information requested is not held centrally as the data available does not distinguish between GB and non-GB registered vehicles.

Wildlife

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was made available for monitoring the incidental capture and killing of animals listed in Annex IV(a) of the EU habitats directive from 1984 to 2009.

Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage fund a number of projects that provide data on incidental capture and killing of animals listed in Annex IV (a) of the Habitats Directive. Details are provided in the following table:

  

Project
Funding Period
Funding (£)


Scottish contribution to bats and wind turbines: improving the evidence base
2009-2012
20,000


Use of radar to prevent bat collisions with wind turbines
2008-2009
3,300


Assessment methodology for determining collision impacts of marine renewable energy devices (excluding offshore wind farms) on marine birds
2009-2010
15,000


Assessment methodology for determining cumulative impacts of marine renewable energy devices (excluding offshore wind farms) on marine birds
2009-2010
15,000


Wildlife surveys: National survey of otter distribution in Scotland and Scottish Wildcat Survey
2003-2004 and 2007-2009
60,000


Scottish Executive contribution to UK Cetacean Bycatch Monitoring Scheme
2007-2010
90,000


Scottish Executive contribution to UK Cetacean Strandings Co-ordination and Investigation Programme 
2007-2010
90,000


Scottish Marine Mammal Strandings and Investigation Programme 
2008-2011
210,000



  In addition, relevant Defra-funded programmes include the UK Cetacean Bycatch Monitoring Scheme (£304,367 2005-07, £508,700 2007-10), Cetacean Standings in the UK (£2,039,787 2000-06, £1,004,126 2007-10) and the Cetaceans Scotland and England (£119,007, 1995-2000).